Midweek update y'all. I declare this part OPENNNN
**********
ERLING'S POV
(Erling Tobechukwu Kingston)
"Country home, take me home to the place where I belong
West Virginia la la la la la take me home" Idara's voice rang through the walls of the kitchen
I chuckle at her lyrical knowledge, that is definitely not how the song goes. My cousin has one of the best voices I've heard, something along the lines of soprano. I've only heard one person with a better voice, a singing voice I've not heard in ages. She always rang in my head how she sings a mixture of countertenor and sometimes alto, I'd recognize the voice anywhere
The house is more alive because my dad is away for the weekend, coupled with the fact that Idara seems to have gotten Amanda warped into one of her activities. She is way more down to earth than I could have imagined, it surprised me that my initial judgement had been wrong, my judgement is never wrong
Ding! My phone notification sounds from chair adjacent to the one I'm sitting on.
I stretch my upper body hoping my hand would impossibly grasp the leather case of my phone but I guess my body could only stretch as much. I decide to ignore the ring of my phone due to laziness hoping I'd check it later when I can finally stand up and walk to the other chair
Ding! It sounds again, this time making me realize that picking a doorbell sound as a notification sound was a terrible idea- you can't just not answer it
I stand up slowly, gently placing my bowl of chips on the stool, Idara would kill me if I made a mess
I muted all groups, muted some of my classmates too- whom I've mentally crossed out of my potential testers list- who would that be?
Aidan ð¯
Dudeeeee
12:04pm
Aidan ð¯
Message don land oh
Decathlon is by February oh Edmond has confirmed
12:05pm
February? What the
Me
February? Ain't it supposed to be March ending?
12:07pm
Aidan ð¯
Normally oh, I no get wetin dey do this NASEE people oh
12:07pm
Me
We have less time to prepare
12:08pm
Aidan ð¯
Exactly my worries
Wait man, shebi you're back on the team?
12:08pm
Somehow I knew this was coming, everyone has tried so far to appear to be keeping up with my well being but they've not failed to slip in the little detail that I HAD to be completely back after Christmas.
Me
I dunno manð¶
12:10pm
Aidan ð¯
Don't tell me you've still not been in water ever since ð¤¦ââï¸
12:11pm
Me
I'll be back this holiday, before Christmas
12:15pm
Aidan ð¯
You better be ð
He doesn't get it, no one does. They all saw it as a mild injury, the boy who grazed his arm in an accident. I saw it as so much bigger
It was more of a mental than physical accident, I literally developed a fear for open water bodies ever since. Idara chose that as the best time for us to go to Hawaii, to rent a beach house, to observe nature. I snapped too hard that day, she didn't even understand what she had said wrong. I remember how frightened she looked when she walked past me, I'd have held her back to explain but my right bicep was held in castes and I couldn't move it much.
I've not been close to the edge of a pool in 5 months 21 days. That's right, I've been counting. When I was much younger, I'd sneak to the pool when the time was much later than a child should be swimming and the water temperature was enough to freeze a baby, all because I couldn't live without the feel of water on my skin. My dad always joked that I could just go under the shower multiple times instead and it'd fix it since I was a 'water baby'
When my mum died, he didn't let me go near the pool because he didn't want me making any brash decisions that had to do with jumping into the water. It wasn't until some weeks later when he found me sitting at the poolside with my little toes dipped in that he sat beside me and we just stayed there for ours, each offering silent comfort to the other. We didn't seem to have the best relationship from the outside, but we cared for each other at least and I know I love my old man with every fibre of my being
Sometimes I wish I could just go back in time and erase that stupid mistake, that stupid night! Aidan and I had been partying with seniors from other schools and a few college guys, we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time. I let my ego get the best of me, I couldn't just pass on a little dare so I wouldn't seem scared, how stupid
"Tobechi Kingston, I've called you three times!" Idara's high pitched voice sounds
She's standing at the kitchen doorpost clad in a blue apron with a knife swinging dangerously in her hand
"Careful with that thing kiddo, you're pointing it at me" I carefully use my hand to direct the end of the knife to a different direction other than my chest
"Who is kiddo, I'm 8 months older than you, Childd" she drawls on her pronunciation of child to emphasize it
"Did daddy send you any money for my ring light?" She asks as she leans her hip on the door frame
I notice she called him 'daddy' and not 'uncle Ed' or 'your dad' but I try not to give it away with the brief expansion of my eyelids
"No, why would he send it to me instead of sending it directly to you" my eyebrows crinkle in question
"Yeah my bank app is not working for now, Emerald bank be doing the most with their network these days" she huffs then resumes swinging the knife
"What are you doing in the kitchen anyway" I ask over her shoulder as I follow her into the kitchen
"What do people do in the kitchen?" She asks in a mocking tune as she resumes cutting whatever she has on the kitchen counter, I can't see it since her body she's shielding it with her body
"Cook I guess, but you don't like cooking so what's the occasion?" I hoist myself up with my arms to sit on a different counter
"Trip is coming here"
"Ehn?"
**
AMANDA'S POV
(Amanda Aderinsola Akinde)
I scroll through my Instagram page, through the pictures and videos users I follow have deemed as fit to post for the world to see. I've been an active Instagram user for three years but still I had just twelve posts, mainly because I hardly take pictures and when I eventually do, I never post them.
While some people find it easy to take pictures of every single activity, every snack they get, every hairstyle or nails they get done- I just never feel inclined to post.
I scroll through the endless pictures and reels on my Instagram page and just then, a red 'person' icon pops up on my Instagram notification signifying that a new person has followed me. Feeling excited, I rush to tap the glowing button since my numbers of followers have refused to move from 1416 that they have been for a long time, maybe they'd increase if you posted more genius!
Bear_Nana started following you
I click on the users profile to confirm my suspicion- it's Nancy!
I don't know why, but I just assumed she wasn't the social media type, how wrong I was.
Her account is a professional one, just like Toke's. While the latter has the 'content creator' professional tag on her account, hers has 'dancer' right below her username. Her number of followers is what surprises me the most, 56k? Like fifty six friggin thousand followers on this app?! She definitely doesn't have as high as Toks with over a hundred thousand followers but for a secondary school student, this is a LOT!
I tap the follow back button hastily because why not? She approves my follow request allowing me to go through her content which I couldn't before because of the status of her account being a private one. I receive some 'like' notifications meaning Nana has liked some of my posts, I do the same but not on too many posts so her account is not blocked for being spam liked or vice versa
I continue to entertain myself with other people's lives narrated through pictures and videos when I see a post from a very familiar person
queentoks_24
The picture she posted y'all ð(ikr baby Toks la hot) â¨
It's a normal selfie- that is if normal implies looking extremely Goddess like- all she has is a little lipgloss on and maybe some powder but the angle of the picture- it made her look so regal yet so simple
What surprises me isn't the fact that Toks can look absolutely astonishing but the location- Berlin, Germany
She's in Germany? That's why she couldn't come for the party!
It stings a little that I found out her location from an Instagram public post, I don't know why, but I expected her to at least keep me up with her plans- being friends and all
She probably just forgot to mention it
I say to myself as I decide to slide into her DM on Instagram
Me
Hi
11:01am
Maybe she doesn't reply DM's on Instagram? She's following me back though, she should see it
I wait a couple more minutes before I decide to chat her up on WhatsApp instead
Me
Tokeeeeeeð«ð«
11:30am
Ice witch ð¥¶ð§ââï¸
Hey
11:31am
Wow slightly less amused, okay...
Me
You didn't tell me you were going to Germany?!
11:32am
Ice witch ð¥¶ð§ââï¸
I didn't
11:35am
Ouch I expected her to write much more given the number of minutes I saw she was 'typing'. I can't help but feel slightly offended that it appears I'm the only one interested in having this conversation
Me
Okay, enjoy Berlin
11:36am
Ice witch ð¥¶ð§ââï¸
Thanks
It's good to hear from you
11:37am
I doubt that
Me
Yeah you tooð
11:37am
I wonder who fed her sour grapes yeesh! Or maybe she just doesn't chat well? That's probably it, even though she did seem completely odd with her replies...
I sit up completely when I remember Nana's request to make it up to me, maybe following me on Instagram is all part of it
I already picked out a maroon coloured overall gown and cream colored long sleeves to wear underneath, she said 'casual but not too casual'. I chose a pair of wedge sandals to wear with them since I don't want to look short next to her. I make sure to wear platform shoes when I'm with Nana or Toks, the latter is slightly taller than the former but I'm still the shortest of the trio, not like we are actually a trio. Somehow, the both of them never seem to share the same space, I don't think I've ever seen them speak to each other asides when there's important 'Senior prefect to assistant' information to be passed
The both of us are hanging out somewhere today, I have no idea where since she says it's a surprise and I have to I wait till I get there. The initial idea was for her to come over to my house and take me out to 'spoil me senseless' but she changed plans last minute saying she has 'crucial matters' to attend to at home so her driver will be coming to pick me instead. The driver will pick me, take me over to her house then the two of us will proceed to wherever she calls fun in the city of Abuja- I hope
I fasten the last button of my gown- which is literally the first button, but since I prefer fastening from the bottom to the top rather than top to bottom- I clip the loose ends together
The silver piece on my wrist tells me the time is 12:40pm which is ten minutes after Nana said her driver has started coming. I shuffle my feet into my sandals laying on the floor by my desk and pull the straps over my heels as I bolt down the stairs
My mum is still at her boutique since it's still the early hours of the day and I'm the only one at home since I told her I wasn't going to be there with her since I would have a guest. Thank God she's not around at the moment because she most certainly wouldn't have allowed me go in a car with some random driver she has never met.
The sound of the honk of the car makes me speed up my drinking of water from a glass and rush out of the front door, speedily turning the lock and dropping the key in the flower pot so my mum can find it later
I greet the security guard who is chewing on his groundnut seeds rather aggressively, he replies with a simple grunt as he goes back to reading his newspaper without a care in the world. Are we sure this man is a security guard?
The glass of the familiar black land cruiser winds down to reveal a man clad in black suit and dark shades seated in the driver's seat
"Good afternoon sir" I say as I duck my head slightly to see his face and also out of respect
"Miss Amanda A Akinde Trip?" He recites from his head
I can almost imagine Nancy making him recite those words over and over again so he can remember
"Yes that's me" I reply
He nods his head and gestures with his hand for me to get in. I almost get in but instead I choose to go through the back of the car to the other side, not because I had a preference to where I sat, but so that I can get a proper look at the license plate to see if it matches with the message Nana sent
'EPE106RD'
"Good" I say to myself as I open the door on the other side of the back seat and plop down on the leather cushions
The ride to the house was definitely a long one, it felt like we live at opposite parts of the city. I couldn't even fool myself to act like I understood the routes the driver was taking, I've been here for almost five months and I don't think I'll ever master this roads. Even Lagos that you've lived all your life how many places do you know?
We just arrived at the house, the driver alerted me by honking for me to get out. He said he won't be entering with the car as he has more things to do in town but he has let them know I'm around and the gate would soon be opened
I shift from foot to foot as the vehicle that brought me zooms off, leaving me in front of white, tall gates and a blue fence just like most of the other houses in the estate. The small part of the gate opens slowly with a man in his middle age looking at me like he's met me somewhere in the past where I wronged him guess it's not only the driver that has issues.
He gestures his hand towards the entrance of the main house, just in case I'm blind and I don't know how to get into a house. I duck my head slightly in appreciation and slight annoyance as I proceed to the building clutching the strap of my bag on my shoulder nervously
I ball my hand into a fist, take a deep breath then knock on the huge- probably bulletproof- doors
I expect Nana- the one who invited me and the one who I solely want to see- to open the door but instead, her fraternal twin, the one with the noodle hair and poop face- yeah that one- answers instead
"Hey" I say with a brief wave that looks more like a salute
He takes a look at my face, then his eyes travel down my outfit, down to my footwear. His gaze makes me a little self conscious and I'm tempted to pull my dress down a bit since it's a little short and slightly below my mid thigh. He takes a glance at my face again, then repeats the process- not even trying to be discreet with how he's checking me out
But his checking me out wasn't perverted or flirtatious in anyway, it was more in a 'I'm surprised you have clothes' way
His lips curl upward slightly in a mocking expression
"Are you trying to impress me?" He spits out of his hole
That comment kills any jittery vibe I was feeling while coming in through the gate
A long, loud hiss erupts from my lips as I shove past him and enter the house
"Did I say you could enter?" he snorts after me as he closes the door
"Trippppp" Nana squeals as she skips over to hug me excitedly
I return the hug with a huge grin on my face, I am super happy to see her. She's one of the few people that know about my academic progress last term and she has not stopped squealing and cheering for me every chance she gets
She is in an ocean blue loose mini gown with a fastening at the mid section making it look like an agbada and at the same time, a very stylish and convenient wear. I envy her a little with how comfortable she looks wearing the gown, mine doesn't make me move too much without hoisting itself up a few inches along my thigh
"I made some cookies and some fruit cake, you said you like them" she plasters an unsure grin on her face "consider it a peace offering?"
A smile makes it's way to my lips as I consider how concerned she is about our relationship since the party, I couldn't have asked for a better friend!
"Definitely" I finally say with a grin
"Great, cos I already packed it and put it into the car we will be taking" she says as relief washes over her face
We both laugh as she grabs her stuff and head out to the porch
She opens the doors of a black new model Hex convertible under the car shed and settles herself into the driver's seat
"You can drive?" I ask, not wanting to believe she'll be taking up out by herself, alone
I gulp
"Don't be scared, I've been driving since I was sixteen, that makes it two years next year" she says as she turns the ignition
**********
Nana really got the entire day planned, first he drove us to a park. I was a little confused as to what we were doing at a part when we don't have dogs or little children with us until I saw the magical creatures from the spaces in the fence
The horses looked so- regal. These ones probably belonged to the royal family of horse- if there's something like that. The white horse's blond hair shone in a way it looked like it got special grooming and hair treatment on a regular.
Nana paid the horse keeper and he handed us two horses, one white and one black, I carefully pulled at the reins of the white horse and patted the snout softly in adoration
"You speak horse?" Nana chuckles playfully as she settles on the back of her own horse without much ceremony
I climb mine too carefully, not like my weight would hurt the horse
We rode the horses for the designated time and got off, hoping we would get a ride on the speedboat only for the operator to say we needed an adult with us
"Sir what makes you I'm not an adult" Nana says for the umpteenth time in their heated argument
"Clearly you guys are still children, you need adult supervision" he retorts with a yawn, acting bored like he has been doing since we got here
"But aren't YOU supposed to be the adult supervision?" She almost yells
"And be responsible for you?" he gestures to both of us with two of his calloused fingers "no thank you, come back with your parents"
Nana grunts in frustration as we walk away from the lake shore, kicking stones in anger
"Let's go to the mall" she finally says when get to the car and her anger dies down
"Yesss" I agree immediately
The drive to the mall took us less than 10 minutes since the park is literally behind the mall. She parks the car between two marked lines for where a car should be parked so we get down and walk into the mall
The mall brings back a LOT of memories. It's been so long since I stepped out for any fun at all, I've majorly been cooking up in the house or following my mum to her clothes store but I've never stepped into a mall ONCE since I got here
We buy a few stuff here and there, like some ice cream and a bubble gum Nancy has been dying to try since forever but our feet stop at the same time when we get to the cinemas
We exchange gazes to confirm we have the same thoughts before skipping into the film house hallways skipping and giggling
After roughly two hours and a half of a highly captivating star wars sequel; the rise of Skywalker, we finally decide it's time to call it a day
Our day would have been completely perfect if not for the little problem we encountered
"Ye ye ye" Nana said as she skidded the car to a stop and slouched down in her seat so her face wouldn't be visible over the dash board
I don't know what she's doing but I follow suit
"What is happening?" I whisper yell in fright
"Look forward but not too forward" she says
I look forward like she asks and notice a few uniformed men
"Okay..."
"Those people dressed like clowns are VIOs, do you know what that is?" She asks still in her crouched position
I roll my eyes at her question
"Of course I do so what?"
"I don't have a license"
"But you have a permit right?"
"I don't know where that is"
"Blood of Jesus" fear grips me at her last words
"In this country even if you don't want to fear anybody, fear Abuja VIO, they are wicked souls" she looks up at them then looks behind us on the freeway "we can't even think of making a U-turn because the last U-turn is like ten minutes away and we can't reverse for ten minutes if we don't want to be arrested"
I swallow as I digest her words in
"What are we going to do?" I finally ask
"Lemme call someone, maybe the driver to come and pick us from here because we can't even get a taxi and I don't want to order bolt then leave my car here" she rushes out as she fumbles her phone
God abeg, why did you let me agree when Nancy said she would be driving us
*******
End of chapter >>>>
My loveliesssð« thanks a lot for the show of love and the almost 1k reads
I noticed I've been writing more on Trip and Toke's friendship than Trip and Nana so I decided to let you take a look at how they relate when they are not in Sheffield ð¤ª
This one is a real thing, Abuja VIO are an evil set of people ðð one day when they choose to set out, they MUST make people suffer, they'll literally seize your keys and keep you under the sun for hours, pretending they've forgotten ðð
A lot of people have been asking me who the observer is since the last chapter ð the observer won't be revealed just yet, but you're welcome to guess anyone as YOUR observer ð
Thank you all for the active participation in reading this bookð« first time I'm writing 4k words God abeg
Y'all know the drill, I'll wake up and edit since it's currently 11:39pm and I'm yawning ð¥±
Comment and vote please ð¤â¤ï¸